In the past few years, I have been thinking of new ways to interpret this classic Chinese dish. Last year, I baked the nian gao batter in muffin tins to make small cakes that resemble mochi muffins. This year, I experimented with turning nian gao into waffles and baking them inside a chocolate chip cookie! There are a lot of contrasting textures in the cookies, from the crunchy turbinado sugar on the outside, to the soft and chewy centers. If you eat the cookies soon after they’re baked, you’ll get a lovely dose of melted chocolate with each bite. These cookies are quite big, so I usually eat half a cookie at a time. My family and my husband’s co-workers enjoyed these cookies a lot, and I hope you do too!
ARE NIAN GAO COOKIES DIFFERENT FROM MOCHI COOKIES?
Conceptually, these nian gao cookies are basically the same as some of the mochi cookie recipes I’ve seen. Essentially, you’re wrapping a soft chewy “cake” inside cookie dough before baking the cookies. As a matter of fact, I have been describing these cookies as mochi cookies to people who aren’t as familiar with nian gao. The slight difference between nian gao and mochi is the type of flour that’s used to make each style of cake. Nian gao tends to be made from glutinous rice flour (typically from Thailand) that comes from long-grain glutinous rice. Mochi is usually made from sweet rice flour (mochiko) that comes from short-grain sweet rice.
COOKING NOTES FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP NIAN GAO COOKIES
NIAN GAO FILLING INGREDIENTS
To make the nian gao filling, I adapted my mom’s steamed nian gao recipe. The chewy texture of nian gao comes from glutinous rice flour. I generally use Erawan brand’s glutinous rice flour (affiliate link), which comes in plastic bags with a green label. I have not tested this recipe with Mochiko or Bob’s Red Mill’s sweet rice flour, but they will probably work too. I wanted the nian gao filling in these cookies to have a distinct flavor that would complement the chocolate chip cookie exterior. So I added ground ginger and a bit of molasses to the filling. The molasses helps to highlight the gingery flavor of the nian gao. If you don’t have molasses at home, feel free to leave it out.
PAR-COOKING NIAN GAO
Before wrapping the nian gao inside the chocolate chip cookie dough, you need to par-cook the nian gao batter.The most convenient way to do this is to microwave the batter until you get a mochi-like dough. You can also steam the batter inside a wok for about 7 to 8 minutes, until the batter turns solid.
CHOCOLATE CHIP DOUGH
To give these cookies some extra flavor, I added orange zest to the chocolate chip cookie dough. Oranges also symbolize prosperity in Chinese culture, so I wanted to incorporate that symbolism in these Lunar New Year-themed cookies. I generally incorporate orange zest by rubbing it into the granulated sugar, until the sugar turns orange. In terms of the chocolate, I used Guittard’s bittersweet chocolate bars, which I chopped into small chunks. The chunks of chocolate should be about the size of chocolate chips (see photo above). If they are too big, the chocolate chip dough will be more difficult to wrap around the nian gao. Guittard’s bittersweet chocolate contains 70% cacao, and they come in 6-ounce packages. However, this recipe only uses 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (2.5 chocolate bars). I tried a batch with 6 ounces of chocolate and thought it was too much for the cookies. If you’d rather not have any chocolate leftover, you can use all 6 ounces here. You’ll want the dough to be at room temperature when you shape the cookies. That way, the dough will be soft enough to wrap around the nian gao filling.
COATING COOKIES IN TURBINADO SUGAR
To give these chocolate chip nian gao cookies a light crunch, I roll the cookie dough in a bowl of turbinado sugar. The crunchiness of the sugar contrasts very nicely with the chewy texture of the nian gao filling. Demerara sugar or other types of coarse sugar will also work.
CAN I PREPARE THE DOUGH AHEAD?
You can make both types of dough a day ahead and refrigerate overnight. Before shaping the cookies, let the chocolate chip cookie dough and nian gao reach room temperature so the cookies are easier to shape.
REHEATING THE NIAN GAO
When the cookies are still warm, the nian gao filling is incredibly soft, reminiscent of a warm marshmallow. As the cookies cool, the filling stiffens into a more mochi-like texture. If you want to soften the center of the cookies a day or two after they’re baked, reheat the cookies in the oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for about 4 to 5 minutes.
